Dark Night of the Soul
by Felicia Neko
Summary: When a mad goddess destroys all life on Earth, divine powers manage to save 10 youths. But with the Gods unable to intervene, who will stop her? Chapter 2 added: The group finally meets and talks, and the sad truth is finally revealed.
1. Diminduendo

Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball Z, Sailor Moon, Digimon 02, Digimon Tamers, Record of Lodoss War, Card Captor Sakura, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Legend of Zelda, Dark Cloud or Escaflowne, or any of their characters. This story is for entertainment purposes only, and I am not getting any money off of this. If you try to sue me, you won't get anything because I don't have anything. Thank you. 

Summary: An evil goddess, her heart filled with malice, launches an attack upon Earth and many other worlds, killing everything. Divine powers manage to save ten youths, but with them not powerful enough and the gods unable to intervene, how will she be stopped?

This is a rewrite of a story I started about half a year ago, called Changing the Past. I fell into a slump after the second chapter, but thanks to the Angel Abi's review, I'm going to attempt to rewrite it. The plot will be a tad different, a few more characters have been added, and hopefully, my writing skills have improved. The plot will be darker, as will the romance. Anyone who enjoyed the romance from CtP will be happy to learn that those couplings will remain. 

Enjoy. 

Dark Night of the Soul

By: Lady Dragon

Chapter One: Diminuendo 

The air was still, but deathly cold. Not a thing moved, or breathed, or lived. It was a ghost land, a wasteland. 

It was the Earth. 

Everything was dead, gone, destroyed…

"As it should be." 

A figure stood over the ruin, dark eyes narrowing as she stared at it. 

"Beautiful, isn't it? Quiet, unspoiled beauty." 

"If you enjoy the beauty of death, Zehiirana." 

The figure – Zehiirana - whirled around to come face to face with another figure, this one of a man. His eyes, weary of life, pain and suffering, surveyed her intently. Zehiirana laughed.

"Ah, Morkai, you amuse me. Why do you care for these pathetic mortals? They were ants under our feet. Not worthy of the life given to them!" 

"That is no excuse for your devilry, Zehiirana," stormed Morkai. "The blood you have spilt this day will come to haunt you ten, no, a THOUSAND times over. You will feel the pain they felt, the burn, the sting of death!" 

Her eyes narrowed. "Is that a threat, Morkai?" 

He straightened. "Perhaps. But retribution will not come from me, but from another source. There are powers greater than mine in this universe." 

"The gods? The ones greater than you or I? They will not care for the deaths of foolish and weak mortals. They would have died anyway. I merely sped up the process." 

"Arimakine would care. So would Mariiemyeia."

"THEM? You state all your hope for revenge and the spilling of MY blood on THEM! Do you believe that they would care?

"Yes, I do." 

"Even if they did, you know it is against our laws for a god, even one of the great gods, to spill another's blood. For shame Morkai, you know our laws better than anyone, even me."

"Be that as it may, I believe that an exception…" 

"An EXCEPTION!" Zehiirana threw back her head and laughed. Morkai shuddered. "Oh, Morkai, you make me laugh! There are NO exceptions to the laws. Believe what you want, dreamer. No retribution will fall upon me for the death of mortals and the destruction of these petty worlds. No one will miss Earth, Digiworld, Hyrule, Gaea, Lodoss, or any of them. You are out of luck, Morkai. They will not help you. You are alone." 

And with that Zehiirana vanished. Morkai was alone in the world. He shuddered, feeling the emptiness and the pain of the earth. 

"Ugh…" There was a soft groan from somewhere underneath Morkai. He froze momentarily; jumped off the pile of rocks he had been standing on and began shifting them, trying to reach whoever had been under them. 

Could it be? Could someone have actually survived Zehiirana's attack? It seemed impossible, but…maybe.

Morkai shifted the last rock to reveal the body of an incredibly short young man, horribly bloodied and mangled. His hair, which was tri-colored red, black and gold, was covered in dust, as were his clothes, which resembled a Japanese school uniform. Around his neck was a strange golden device, like an upside-down pyramid with a strange symbol on it, like an eye. 

Morkai shook the boy. "Young man, young man, are you alright? Are you alive?" 

"Yes," whispered the boy in a feeble voice, "I-I think so." He sat up groggily, blinked a few times, then turned to stare at Morkai. "Who are you?"

Morkai paused. What should he tell him? "My name is Morkai," he said finally, "I am a spirit, sort of like a demi-god."

The boy continued to stare. "A-A d-d-demi-god? Am I dead?" 

"No, but…you may be the only living thing left."

"What do you mean?"

"A few hours ago, an evil goddess, named Zehiirana, destroyed all life on Earth, as well as a few other places. Her heart was filled with malice, and to her, mortals, like you, are not worthy of life."

The boy closed his eyes, because of both grief and pain. "Kuso, t-t-they're all dead? All my friends, my family, all of them, all because some damn goddess had a hissy fit?"

Morkai hung his head, as if he was to blame. "Yes, it's true. But, now to more pressing matters. We had better get you some help, Mr.…" he trailed off, looking at the boy uncertainly. 

"Motou, Yugi Motou." 

"Mr. Motou. I am no healer, so we'd better get you help elsewhere." 

He touched Yugi's arm and closed his eyes, as if in a trance. Then they both vanished, as if they had never been there, leaving the desolate world. 

Yugi awoke a while later. When had he fallen asleep? He was in a bed, a comfy bed, with soft sheets covering him. Various cuts on his body had been bandaged and he was now dressed in a soft tunic and leggings, like something out of a fantasy book. His clothes were folded on a chair next to the bed. 

He sat up and looked around the room. It was small, sparsely furnished, with white walls. He was in a hospital of sorts. 

"Oh, good. You're finally awake." 

Morkai stood in the doorway, a smile on his face.

"How long have I been asleep?" 

"About half a day, not long, considering your injuries. We've washed and mended your clothes. Your wounds healed nicely, under the magical care of our healers."

"Magic?" 

"Yes. This hospital, no, this entire world, is sustained by magic."

"This world?"

Morkai continued to smile. "You are in the world of the gods, Yugi Motou. A very high honor for a mortal."

Yugi's eyes widened. "Gods! But…does that mean that she…"

Morkai grew grave. "Yes, Yugi, she is in this world. But do not fear. She does not know you are alive, and even if she did, she could not harm you. This hospital is under the protection of the queen of the gods, Mariiemyeia. Zehiirana has no power here." 

Yugi sighed in relief. "That's good to know." He paused. "Thank you, for saving my life. If not for you, I'd still be under that pile of rocks."

"Do not thank me. Thank Lady Fate. It is thanks to her that I was able to save you."

Yugi smiled. "Well, next time you see Lady Fate, thank her for me. And Queen Mariiemyeia. Thank her as well."

Morkai laughed. "Well, Yugi Motou, there is a bath waiting for you in the next room, if you would like it."

Yugi got out of bed and stretched. "I would very much, Morkai, thank you." 

Morkai lead him into the next room, where the bath was waiting, and then left him there. He strolled aimlessly down the hall, troubled. How HAD Yugi managed to survive the attack?

A hospital attendant ran behind him. "Lord Morkai," he shouted. Morkai turned around.

"Yes?"

"We found another one. Like the boy. It was a girl. We found her near Tomoeda, Japan."

Morkai stared at him in surprise. Another one?

"Take me to her."

He followed the attendant down into the emergency room, where several doctors were carrying the body of a young girl, around Yugi's age. Her clothes were in tatters, and her hair, which was light brown, was streaked in blood. 

Morkai followed them into the room where they had kept Yugi, where they placed her gently on a bed. As he left her with the doctors, Morkai shook his head. How had SHE managed to survive?

Yugi walked back into the room about an hour later, drying his hair. He was once again dressed in the leggings and tunic. He was feeling very refreshed, and, to his immense surprise, considering he had just found out that everyone he knew was dead, he found himself whistling. Perhaps it was this hospital. The place just had that effect on you. 

He paused suddenly, considering something he hadn't thought of before. 

Yami. 

What had happened to Yami?

/Yami./ he thought through their mental link.

There was no reply.

/Yami./ he thought again.

There was still no reply. 

/Yami!/ Yugi shouted mentally, becoming frantic.

//…Y-Yugi? Aibou?//

Yugi almost cried. /Yami! You're alive! I thought you were dead!/

//Why would I be dead, aibou?//

/Everyone's dead! Jiisan, Jou, Honda-kun, Anzu-chan, everyone!/

//Ra…now I remember…the light…you were about to die…and I saved you.//

/N-Nani? YOU saved me Yami?/

//Yes.//

Yugi would have replied, but Morkai cut him off, as he came up behind Yugi. 

"Yugi."

Yugi jumped and whirled around. Seeing Morkai, he breathed a sigh of relief. 

"M-Morkai-sama, you scared me."

"Sorry Yugi, but I thought you might want to know that we managed to find another human, alive."

"Who?" Yugi blurted out.

"We don't know. It's a girl, about your age. Short brown hair, taller than you. Do you know her?"

"A-Anzu?" whispered Yugi. Could they have found Anzu? "Wh-where did you find her?"

"Near the ruins of Tomoeda, Japan."

Yugi slumped. It wasn't Anzu. "No, Morkai, I don't know anyone from around there."

Morkai lowered his eyes. "I see. We put her up in your room. She should be waking presently. Would you like to meet her?" 

"Why not?" 

They walked back into Yugi's room. The girl was awake, sitting cross-legged on the bed, dressed in clothes much like Yugi's. 

"Ohayo!" said the girl in a sweet voice. "I'm Kinomoto Sakura." Morkai and Yugi introduced themselves. 

She frowned. "Where am I?"

Morkai and Yugi glanced at each other. What could they tell her? Yugi sat down on the bed opposite her; Morkai sat in a chair. He got ready to speak when another doctor ran into the room and whispered something in his ear. 

Morkai looked dumbfounded. "Another one?" he whispered so Yugi and Sakura couldn't hear. The doctor nodded. Morkai sighed and got up. "I have to go see to something. Sit tight and I'll explain everything." They left the room, leaving Sakura and Yugi alone. 

Sakura sighed. "I don't suppose YOU could tell me what's going on?" she asked Yugi hopefully.

Yugi frowned. "I really don't think I'm the one to tell you that. We'll just have to wait for Morkai to come back."

"What's he doing anyway?"

Yugi shrugged. "I dunno."

They sat quietly for a minute. They Sakura suggested, "Let's go find out!"

"Okay, then."

They got up and left the room, determined to find out what was happening.

A/N: I think I'll leave it at that for now. I'm really surprised how quickly I got this out; usually it takes me a lot longer. Anyway, next chapter will explain what's REALLY going on in more detail, and the rest of the main cast will be introduced. What do you think of Morkai? He'll play an important role, but not a major one. What about Zehiirana, do you think she's a good villain? Give me feedback people! That way I'll be able to fix something you don't like! Oh, and check out my bio page to see what else I have coming. There's one story, I'm not sure whether I should write or not. I'd like to have someone's opinion on that. Oh, and ages are as follows for this story:

Yugi – 15

Sakura – 14

Trunks – 17

Usagi – 15

Hikari – 14

Xiao – 13

Link – 17

Takato – 15

Van – 15

Neese – 14 

See you next chapter! 

Peace, Love and Bishonen,

Lady Dragon. 


	2. Unhappy Tidings

Disclaimer – See chapter 1

Summary – See chapter 1 

Ages – See chapter 1

A/N: *grovels frantically* I am sooooooooooooooooooooooooo sorry about the delay. I don't have a valid reason to explain (unless that you will believe that I am a complete and utter procrastinator (which I AM, by the way)) so you'll have to accept my complete and utter apology. I really hope this chapter was worth the wait. 

Dark Night of the Soul

By Lady Dragon

Chapter Two – Unhappy Tidings

The hospital was quiet. Too quiet. Yugi and Sakura crept down the hallway, trying to remain out of sight. They needn't have bothered, they realized early on, because it seemed that everyone was wherever Morkai was.

Who, by the way, they had seen no sign of. 

By now they were hopelessly lost. They had reached a fork in the hallway, and, hearing voices had decided to one the left-hand way. They didn't find anyone, but, in backtracking, they had gotten themselves even more lost. 

Yugi leaned against the wall. "Okay, it's official. We're lost."

"Tell me something I don't know."

They both sighed. Sakura walked up to a door and began to bang her head against it. Then…

"HOE!" 

…The door opened suddenly and Sakura was thrown forward and fell to the ground, at the feet of the one who opened the door.

"Itai."

The one who opened the door was a young man; about seventeen years old, with lavender colored hair and cool blue eyes. He blinked at seeing Sakura lying there.

"Oops. Gomen nasai. I didn't know you were there."

"It's okay." Sakura got to her feet and brushed off her leggings. "I shouldn't have been leaning on the door. My name is Sakura Kinomoto. This is Yugi Motou." 

"Trunks Briefs. Nice to meet you."

"Maybe you can help us," suggested Yugi, "we're looking for a guy named Morkai."

"Hmm…the name _does _ring a bell." Trunks turned around and called into the room, "Hey Link. Do you remember a guy named Morkai?"

Another young man walked out from the room; this one dressed in a green tunic and white leggings, brown boots and a green hat covering his blonde hair. He thought for a moment. 

"Yes. I do. I was awake when they brought me into the room, and I remember the healers talking about someone named Morkai. I did not see him though." Both Yugi and Sakura sighed. 

"Why is it so important?" asked Trunks curiously. 

"We think he may know what exactly is going on. Did anyone tell you anything?" asked Yugi, feeling a little ashamed that he was the only one that knew. 

"No," replied Link.

"We're kind of in the dark about the whole thing. Do YOU know anything?" All eyes turned on poor Yugi.

"No," he lied, feeling horrible.

"Well then, let's go find this Morkai person and solve this little mystery," said Trunks.

It was agreed and they started off down the corridor Yugi and Sakura had come from. They almost managed to get lost again, but, luckily, they ran into a doctor coming out of one of the rooms who directed them to the front lobby, where he said Morkai would be. 

They arrived there in time to see Morkai speaking with six others about their age, four girls and two boys. They were speaking in low voices, so Yugi, Sakura, Trunks and Link couldn't hear everything they were saying. Then Morkai said to yet ANOTHER doctor, "You'd better go get the other four children. They should be here to hear this."

"We're already here," said Yugi quickly, walking up to Morkai. 

"Good. Then sit down and I will explain everything."

They sat. 

"First," said Morkai, "we must all be introduced. My name is Morkai. This is Yugi Motou, Sakura Kinomoto, Trunks Briefs and Link," he pointed to each one in turn. "Yugi, Sakura, Trunks and Link, this is Usagi Tsukino, Hikari Kamiya, Takato Matsuki, Van Fanel, Xiao, and Neese." They all exchanged hellos and waited for what Morkai would say next. 

"I suppose there should be no beating around the bush," sighed Morkai, obviously uncomfortable, "shall I be blunt?"

Yugi looked down at his hands folded in his lap. "I suppose so," said the sweet voice of Neese, a young girl with long purple hair, wearing a white cloak over an orange dress. 

Morkai sighed again. "Well then, here's the blunt truth of it. Everyone you know – and many people you don't know – are dead."

There was an eerie silence. Then pandemonium.

"What do you mean?" roared Van Fanel, a young man with messy black hair and a sword strapped to his belt, "How can they all be dead?"

Morkai didn't answer. 

Xiao, the kawaii cat girl, looked, for one second, torn between wanting to strangle something, and wanting to burst into tears. She chose the latter and began sobbing. Hikari Kamiya, a fifteen-year-old girl with short brown hair and pink eyes, gathered Xiao in her arms and allowed the younger girl to sob on her shoulders, though her eyes were misty as well. 

Usagi Tsukino, a young woman with the very long golden-blonde hair tied up in odangoes, had started crying hysterically as well. She had begun to cry on an extremely embarrassed Trunks' shoulder. Trunks himself looked like he wanted to murder someone. Link's fists were clenched so tight that his knuckles had turned white. Neese had pressed her hands to her mouth in an expression of sheer horror. Takato Matsuki, a boy with messy brown hair and goggles on his head, just stared ahead and kept murmuring no, over and over. Sakura was crying silently, and her knees were brought up to her chest, and she kept rocking back and forth. 

And, throughout it all, Yugi just sat there, staring at his hands. He felt so ashamed. He could have told them _something, _to help prepare them. 

//Don't be ashamed, aibou. There was nothing you could have said to help ease the pain. //

/I just feel so horrible, Yami. /

//They are grieving, aibou, and so are you. This is just their way of mourning. //

/I know but… /

//There's nothing you could have done. //

"There's nothing you could have done." Yugi blinked suddenly, coming out of his stupor. He stared at Morkai, who had spoken those very words to an angry Van, who was stomping around looking like he wanting to kill someone. Had Morkai heard what he'd said?

//Be careful, Yugi. I don't think that that one is exactly who he says he is. //

Yami's warning rang in Yugi's head. Morkai? Lie to them? No. Impossible. It just didn't seem like something he would do, even though he'd only known him for a short time. But…still…

"Did you know, Yugi?"

Yugi blinked again, and turned to look at Sakura, who was staring at him intently. 

"H-Hai. I knew. Morkai told me earlier today."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"It wasn't my place to tell anyone. I-I couldn't."

"I understand." Her voice was lowered to a whisper, and Yugi could see the tears threatening to spill over again. "I-I just…" her voice broke and tears spilled down her cheeks. She raised her hand to her cheek to try and stop them, but more kept coming. Her shoulders shook. 

There was a lump in Yugi's throat and tears were about to come. He clenched his fist. /That's it. That…that _witch_ is going to pay. /

He took one of Sakura's hands in his own. He didn't say anything, but he didn't need to. Sakura smiled at him gratefully. 

Yes, thought Morkai to himself, thoughtfully, listening to Yugi's vow. She would pay. She would pay dearly. 

"Morkai," said Hikari suddenly, "I was wondering something. How did we survive?"

"Yes, I thought you were going to ask me that," Morkai said thoughtfully, "what we believe (and we're not very sure about this) is that something must have interfered."

"Interfered?"

"The spell, Hikari, was supposed to wipe out every mortal, living person in the worlds. If, say, an immortal, or a ghost, managed to get close enough to you, it's plausible that the spell would have mistaken you for an immortal, or a ghost, and passed you by." 

Sakura's eyes widened. "G-ghost?"

"What will happen now?" asked Link softly. 

"Well, we are preparing a small house for you in a nearby town where you can live-"

"No," Link interrupted, "I meant, what will happen to whoever killed all those people."

Morkai lowered his gaze, he had been afraid of that question. "Nothing, I am afraid."

"Nothing?" the group repeated in unison.

"Yes, nothing. Unfortunately the person who murdered the people was a Goddess named Zehiirana. The laws of the Gods say quiet clearly that no God can raise sword, or arm, or any kind of magic against another God."

"So it's not that you can't. It's just that you won't." Trunks' eyes were as cold as ice, as was his voice.

"No, it is simply that we cannot. The law of the Gods is binding, Trunks. If we were to attack Zehiirana, or she us, the attack would achieve nothing, and our lives would be forfeit. It is simply_ impossible_ to break the laws."

"But isn't they're some way…" pleaded Usagi.

"Impossible. You will have to be content with the fact that you are alive. Mourn them, cry for them, but do not attempt to avenge them, or try to make us raise arms against Zehiirana, for it is impossible." His tone was one of finality, and they said no more. 

Morkai left them then. And they stared helplessly after him.

A/N – Once again, I am SO sorry about the wait. I really have nothing to say actually, that I haven't already said. Please R+R!

Peace, Love and Bishonen,

Lady Dragon


	3. Author's Note

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

I am so sorry. I really truly am. This story is now officially abandoned. Every time I write a new chapter I get hit with writer's block, and it takes months before I can get a new chapter out. With writer's block and these long pauses, I get depressed and rather unsure about my writing abilities. I have a million ideas, but none of them fit this story, and I have no idea about where this story is going to be going. I doubt that I'll ever revise this story again, so Trunks, Usagi, Yugi, Sakura, Link, Hikari, Takato, Xiao, Neese and Van won't be kicking Zehiirana's butt after all. 

I also believe that I will be on a (hopefully temporary) hiatus from writing, as I take some time to get my thoughts and ideas together. But don't count me fully out yet. I may decide to upload a one-shot, or a songfic. And, as I am going to be vacationing in Britain starting next week, perhaps that will give me a new idea. In the next few months I will be reading more books, watching more anime and playing more video games to help give me some inspiration. But until then, thank you for all your support and reviews. Oh, and if anyone knows a good cure for writer's block or lack of inspiration or anything, could ya drop me a line? My e-mail is lady_dragon55@hotmail.com 

Peace, Love and Bishonen,

Lady Dragon (or Lady Dragon5, thanks to FF.N's stupid new rule. Grr…) 


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